Enbloc news: Second try for Villa des Flores

Villa des Flores, a 41-unit condominium located on a prime freehold site in upmarket Whitley Road is up for collective sale in the second attempt by owners there to find a buyer.

It was first put on sale in June this year without success, but marketing agent DTZ said the recent announcement of the Thomson MRT Line is likely to spur developers' interest in the plot.

The future Mount Pleasant station is close to the site.

The indicative price range is $160 million to $165 million or $1,533 to $1,581psf, said DTZ. Villa des Flores sits on a 104,370sqft land parcel, comprises 13 townhouses and 28 apartments and is more than 20 years old.
                                                               
While the first tender attracted some interest, none of the parties was able to meet the reserve price. However, the recent successful collective sales of Thomson View Condominium, Chateau Eliza at Mount Elizabeth and Green Lodge in Toh Tuck Road have improved sentiment in the market.

The wife and I understand that there is no change in the asking price from their last unsuccessful attempt in June 2012. And strangely enough, we cannot find our report on Villa des Flores' first en bloc attempt. So either we had completely overlooked it, or it was one of those posting that we had to "erase" from our blog rather hastily last week...

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Q3 private home prices up 0.5%

Prices of private residential properties in Singapore rose 0.5% in the third quarter of 2012, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

This was the highest rate of increase this year compared to the 0.1% drop in the first quarter and the 0.4% increase in the second quarter.

The increase in Q3 was led mainly by the mass market segment where prices rose 1%, compared to the 0.5% increase in the previous quarter.

Prices also rose at a faster pace for homes in the city fringe. They were up by 0.7% in Q3, compared to the 0.4% rise in Q2.

Meanwhile, prices of homes in the core central region moderated, recording an increase of 0.2% in Q3, lower than the 0.6% rise in the previous quarter.

Source: Channel News Asia

So are prices going to run rampant again? We'll let you know as soon as we do...


P/S: Happy Birthday to the wife!  

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And in the spirit of "Don't Ask Don't Know, Right?"...

No harm trying, especially since we were given the impression that foreigners like those from mainland China and Indonesia are "so rich they don't know where to spend their money on".

Oh, we can offer causal friendship too. Just don't ask either (or both) of us to get inside a car with you to go to some deserted carparks...

Left-click on image to enlarge:

But seriously, we pray that this is not a reflection of the mentality that our younger generation possesses these days.

Have a great week ahead!

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Private apartments under $1 million

The Straits Times ran an article today about private apartments that are still going for under $1 million these days.

The wife and I decided to save you the trouble (in case you are interested in any of the projects) by providing you with the caveats lodged at these developments for the past year.

Although most have indeed gone for less than 1mil as reported, we suggest not holding your breath on buying an apartment at the price indicated in the ST report as most seemed to be anomalies rather than norm. Then again, it's always tempting to report what people want to see/read...

Toh Tuck Lodge:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035589/Toh-Tuck-Lodge#fullscreen

Sembawang Cottage:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035590/Sembawang-Cottage#fullscreen

Lakeside Tower:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035592/Lakeside-Tower#fullscreen

Elias Green:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035594/Elias-Green#fullscreen

Phoenix Heights:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035595/Phoenix-Heights#fullscreen

Casa Emerald:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035598/Casa-Emerald#fullscreen

The Florida:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035600/The-Florida#fullscreen

Lakeside Apartment:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035602/Lakeside-Apartment#fullscreen

Park View Mansion:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035603/Park-View-Mansion#fullscreen

Tampines Court:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/108035606/Tampines-Court#fullscreen

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SRPI up 1% in August

Prices of resale private homes edged up 1 per cent in August, reversing a 0.6% drop in July.

This is according to the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) flash estimates published by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at National University of Singapore.

The August statistics show that resale private property prices across the island continued to advance in August over the previous month.

In particular, the prices of private homes in the non-central region increased 1.5%, compared to a 0.6% decline in July.

Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International Property Consultants, said the growth momentum in the prices of non-central private homes has been the steadiest.

While the sector reported price declines in a few months over the past year, he said overall prices of private homes in the non-central area increased by 4.5% year-on-year .

Meanwhile, prices of homes in the central area climbed 0.5%, recovering from a 0.5% dip over the previous month.

Small apartments with a floor space of 506 square feet and below continued to see prices increase by 0.8% in August.

On a year-on-year basis, Mr Mak added that prices of units in the central area dipped 1.5%, while the overall price of small apartments dropped 1.0%.

Source: Channel News Asia

Sorry but we will not be publishing the full report from The Straits or Business Times. Not that we wouldn't ... but couldn't. Have a good weekend!

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